Bread Pudding

cinnamon raisin bread pudding recipe

Buy one get one free? Don't mind if I do! 

Sounds like a good thing right? That is the logic that convinced me buying 2 pounds of cinnamon raisin bread was a good idea.....but since my husband claims he doesn't have a sweet tooth it's up to me to eat is all!. I hope you like cinnamon raisin bread because I will be posting nothing but that until further notice. 

In all fairness to CRB it makes a wonderful base for bread pudding....which is good. I'll be eating a lot of it.

This recipe is scaled for two servings.... one for me to eat now and one for me to eat later. Want more? Lucky you! You have people who will eat sweets! I honestly considered eating it for breakfast. It's basically baked french toast, right?

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding

1 ½ cup cubed cinnamon raisin bread

1 large egg

1/3 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Put the bread in medium sized bowl.

Whisk together the egg, half and half, vanilla, and sugar. Pour over the cinnamon raisin bread in the bowl, stirring gently to combine.

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Butter two ramekins and divide the bread mixture between the two.  

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.**

Preheat oven to 350. 

Bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Place on wire rack to cool, while you make the caramel sauce.

**If you want your bread pudding and you want it now, you can skip this step. It's better for the texture, not for the patience. :)

Caramel Sauce

As adapted from Epicurious

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup half and half

Bring all ingredients except half and half to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking to dissolve sugar.

Boil for three minutes or so, until mixture is syrupy.

Remove from heat; add half and half and stir until smooth. Let cool.

Caramel Macadamia Rice Crispie Treats

Yes. I stink at life. I have not blogged in months. I swore I'd start blogging again....then I didn't. I told you my kitchen would be done soon.....then it wasn't. Not even close, BUT.....this time I mean it. No really. I will be blogging and cooking and photographing again! No, my kitchen is not finished, but all it not lost.....I've been cheating on my kitchen. I confess. There is a new oven in my life *sigh* it's an electric. It's just so hard to tell you this. *wipes tear* but yes, I am using a "boy kitchen."

Until I have a pretty shiny new double oven gas stove happily installed in my own kitchen (which at this rate won't happen until the fall), I will be using my boyfriend's kitchen. I'm slowly infiltrating it. First it was just a Kitchenaide mixer on the counter.....then came the spring form pans, and the souffle dish and even a small frother for hot chocolate. Before you know I'll have properly set up shop! He says he's okay with this....and despite the fact that he helped me move and pack all my kitchen wares, I'm still not sure Brandon really gets just how much gear I own. He understands in theory.......

 He'll understand fully soon. The blog is back and it's being run from his kitchen. It's a good test for the relationship right?

In other news, no, this recipe is not something I came up with on my own. I read this on Epicurious and my jaw hit the keyboard. It's one of the best things I've made in months....and not just because I haven't had a working kitchen in months.....but that helps its case. These were actually made in Butchie's kitchen (gas oven = happy Jana). Do make them. They are delicious and you'll wonder why the gourmet rice crispy trend hasn't taken off yet, because, WOW.

Enjoy!

Caramel Macadamia Rice Crispie Treats

as found on Epicurious 

4 cups puffed-rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
1 cup salted, roasted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Butter 17- by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line with parchment paper, leaving 1-inch overhang on each end, and butter paper.

In large heatproof steel bowl, toss together cereal and nuts.

In heavy large saucepan over moderate heat, stir together sugar and 6 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, then raise heat to moderately high and boil without stirring, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, until syrup turns deep amber in color, about 8 minutes. Carefully stir in cream (mixture may splatter and briefly harden) then stir in butter. Remove from heat and stir in salt and vanilla.

Drizzle caramel over cereal-nut mixture and, using heatproof silicone spatula or wooden spoon, stir until fully incorporated. Spread mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm and slightly cooled, about 10 minutes, then break into bite-sized pieces.

In small metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water, combine chocolate and oil. Heat, whisking occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Drizzle chocolate mixture over Rice Krispie pieces and let stand until chocolate hardens.

Rice Krispies Treats will keep in an airtight container for up to two days.

Butter Beer! aka Butterscotch Soda

When it comes to store bough candy I don't care for many of them. For most candy bars the chocolate coatings tastes like wax, and the fillings are so processed  I cringe when I look at the labels. For all my food prejudices, caramels never take a bullet. No matter what they are made of I love them dearly. Part of it, I'm sure, must be a bit of childhood nostalgia for Werther's Originals. I love them then, and can't seem to kick the habit now.

I've been doing some recipe creation for an online bridal magazine and they requested an attempt at a butter yellow soda. To be closer to butter yellow I could have used other candies, but when I heard butter I thought of butterscotch, and then caramels and of course that meant walking to the CVS next to my office to buy a band of cheap candy. Darn you, nostalgia, you will be the death of my diet.

That poor little bag of caramel didn't know what was coming. The full bag made it's way into a food processor, and was ground into a fine powder, then thrown into boiling water to make a delicious butter caramel syrup. (Frankly, I think this would make a good harry potter butterbeer as well).

The end result is a soda that tastes just like the candies...which I consider a great thing! I don't mind saying I kicked a few back, and the reason that bottle up there is alone, and only half full is that I didn't want to stop drinking the soda long enough to photograph it. I really love my caramels.

I hope you enjoy this soda. I'm on vacation this week in California. Hooray! Ten day trip full of good friends and good food! I've stocked up a few recipes to post while I'm gone. I may be on vacation but I'm a still a food addict.

Cheers! (and fake butterbeers!)

Caramel Soda

1 cup caramel hard candies, ground into a powder (not one cup of powder)
1 cup water
club soda

Boil together the water and hard candy powder for a few minutes until just combined into a syrup. Allow to cool, stir frequently.

Add one part caramel syrup to two parts club soda. You may have to shake a wee bit to combine.

Enjoy!

Orange Honey Caramel Corn

Orange Caramel Popcorn balls take caramel corn to a whole new level.

Now, some people have children they talk about constantly. Others have dogs, and yet another subset of the populations finds signed sporting goods fill their hearts with joy. I make no judgment on anything that brings joy to their lives. Why? I have no room to judge.....but I do tease......a lot. People need to laugh more, thus I tease about anything and everything under the sun. Earlier this week I posted "what if i talked about my new kindle like people do about their babies? i'm just saying, my kindle can hold 3,500 books....what does your baby do?" My favorite response was "My Kindle learned how to sync up with my droid pro the other day. THEY GROW UP SO FAST!" We jest. I love my friends, their children, and even their signed sporting goods collections, and just to be fair, your signed sporting goods collection can't hold 3,500 books either. Win for the Kindle!

Now, I want to announce my new joy: The Picture Recipe Index.

Yes, another attempt at a great recipe index! After the responses I got from the last little questionnaire about my index, I decided to try out Index 3.0. The majority of people preferred the original index, so it's like that, only split into pages and all the recipes have pictures with them! Please let me know what you think! Also, to the respondent who said "The new one sucks" about my last test index.... you are awesome! I laughed out loud. :) Now, not all the recipes are filled in. This is just what I could build between 4 pm yesterday and this morning, and the ice cream section isn't working yet. It's a baby index. Give it time. If your responses come back in favor of the pictures I'll do my best to finish it up this weekend! :)

Thanks all!

Orange Honey Caramel Corn Balls

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3 Tbsp. orange honey

3 Tbsp. light corn syrup

10 cups popped popcorn

2 tsp. fine sea salt

1 1/2 cups honey-roasted peanuts

In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add sugars, orange honey, and corn syrup and cook to 300° stirring occasionally.

Place popcorn in a lightly oiled bowl. Pour caramel over popcorn and toss to combine, using spatulas sprayed with cooking spray. When popcorn has cooled slightly but is not quite set, mix in salt and peanuts. With oiled hands, form into 2-inch balls, working quickly, to get all the popcorn balls made before the caramel sets!

Apple Cider Buttermilk Pancakes with Apple Caramel Syrup

The combination of sweet apple cider and tangy buttermilk make these golden pancakes an addictive treat. Topped with homemade apple caramel syrup that can be canned for future use. 

Happy 2011! As promised this year is "condiments" year and I'm starting out with my little brain child: apple cider caramel syrup...but what's syrup without a pancake right? 

I've never been much for following a recipe. I see the recipe and think, "To heck with that. This sounds so much better!" That's how both these little recipes came about! I love it.

I started out to make Apple Caramel Jelly, and ended up with Apple Caramel Syrup instead. I'm not particularly sad. It just means a second attempt will be made, and until then my pancakes are going to be very tasty! I also canned the syrup, so I have a nice stock pile for the remainder of the year! Delightful!  

In case the idea of canning just scared you, don't worry! You don't have to can the syrup. I just did because it was supposed to be jelly. (And since I was trying to go old school without fruit pectin and cook it by hand, and am not as of yet particularly adept as understanding the "set tests" I failed and stopped the cooking a good bit too soon). Canning is actually beautifully easy, none of those water baths and boiling jars are actually necessary. Thank you modern sciences for improving canning so wonderfully! If you have a dishwasher and an oven you are ready to go....well and jars, and lids, and something to can! 

But I have something for you to can right here! 

Apple Cider Caramel Syrup

1 quart apple cider

5-1/2 cups sugar

7 half pint jars and lids

If canning, heat your oven to 200 degrees. On a cookie sheet place your clean jars and lid pieces.  Put in oven until ready to use.

Place a small plate in your freezer.

Start with an even layer of 3 cups of sugar in a heavy-duty pan, such as a deep skillet. Heat the sugar over moderate heat, until it begins to melt.  Continue cooking over very low heat, stirring as little as possible, until the entire mixture has becomes a dark amber liquid. Meanwhile begin the apple cider mixture.

In a large stock pot, combine the apple cider and remaining sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. 

Add in caramel sauce. The caramel will seize up.  Return the juice to a low boil and continue to stir until the seized caramel liquefies into the sauce.  Continue to cook until the sauce feels slightly thickened. Pour a teaspoon of sauce onto the small plate in your freezer. If, after a minute, the apple caramel mixture feels like a syrup to the touch and appears decently thick, you are ready to can it. If not, continue to cook testing every few minutes.

When ready remove the tray of jars and lids from the oven.  Ladle or pour the syrup into the jars leaving only a ¼ inch gap at the top. Put on lids tightly, and carefully, and then place, lid side down on the counter to cool (this is seal the jar and sterilize the air left inside). Allow to cool completely before turning right side up and storing.

If using immediately put into a storage container and allow cooling slightly before eating.

Store opened unused syrup in the refrigerator.  

Apple Cider Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons powdered buttermilk**

¾ cup apple cider

1 egg

½ cup butter, melted

In a bowl combine the flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder, salt and buttermilk. Combine cider, egg, and melted butter in a separate bowl.  Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour batter by ¼ cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot skillet, griddle or pan. Flip when bubbles appear on top of pancakes and finish cooking. 

** I use buttermilk powder in the pancakes, which is something I highly recommend owning, as buttermilk will often go bad before used fully, and the powder has a higher variety of uses! I bought mine in the baking section of my local grocery store. 

Five Spice Macarons with Caramel

Chinese cassia cinnamon, star anise, anise seed, ginger and cloves are added to these dainty french cookies sandwiches with caramel and loaded with flavor. 

I was trying to come up with a way to make our gingerbread houses into a post. Though they are rather cute, I highly doubt that gluing kit-kats together with royal icing constitutes a recipe! So instead there will be a juxtaposition in this post. Successful macaron recipe and attempts at gingerbread houses. 

I'll give you a few guesses on the top left gingerbread house before I tell you what it is. No, it's not a shack from Deliverance. Guess again! Nothing Tim Burton whatsoever, though yes, there is some resemblance to his Hansel and Gretel project. Good guess! Try once more. Oh, and here's a clue....that gummy bear at the bottom that looks like he met the business end of a gingerbread Narwhal, he's meant to look like he's fishing. Oh, sad! You wasted your last guess on Tom Sawyer. Nope. ....okay, so I have no idea what you guessed, most likely it was far more entertaining that my guesses. 

The real answer is Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright. Bonus points for creativity. This was Brandon's invention. The rest of us at our gingerbread house competition were a bit more traditional.

By traditional I mean that my roommate Julie and I made houses not out of architectural guide books. Julie made a good solid structure. She was not taken in by the guiles of our competition. No, no. She built the only house that was still standing by the end of the night. (Brandon, I ate your house's roof as soon as I saw your taillights. Sorries!). I on the other hand.........well...........

Falling Water taken from this site

I made a Victorian house. It had cellar doors, a bay window, a chimney, and about 32 pieces that I baked up. I got the pattern from an online site and should have been VERY wary that there was no completed picture! I can only assume that there is no actual way of completing this house! In the end I had an okay structure, without the cellar, bay windows or chimney. It did have a nice roof and snow (bottom right of the collage) but it was not a Victorian house by any stretch of the imagination. In all reality it was a basic stucco cookie cutter home I could see anywhere in the Southwestern section of the United States. SAD! After cutting and re-cutting all those little pieces, half of them just wouldn't work out......and to top it all off the darn thing collapsed. (I blame my fake snow. I think it was too heavy for the load bearing walls to manage). It was an excellent learning experience.

Gingerbread Tips (that I learned from failure) 

1. keep it simple people! 

2. decorate the walls before assembling the house. 

3. know what your completed house looks like. gingerbread puzzles are not fun. (I had to re-arrange the walls a few times before they were in their proper places). 

4. re-cut all the walls after baking. they spread out and that's no good. 

5. watch the weight of your roof! I used fondant to cover the roof. be wary! 

After all that I have to now find a way to transition to the juxtaposed macarons. Ha. I'm not that great a writer. Not. Gonna. Happen.

These macarons were ones I made at my mother's house and took to the family Christmas dinner. I made them a bit "spicy" shall we say. Very flavorful. I used my Chinese Five Spice powder (Chinese cassia cinnamon, star anise, anise seed, ginger and cloves) which is not the traditional mix with Fennel in it (thank heaven!). Consider them my redemption for failing miserably with gingerbread this year. I found the spice to be strong and addictive, my mother would have halved it. Take your pick! One teaspoon or two you can't go wrong with five spice and caramel! 

Caramel Filling

As adapted from Epicurious

2 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 cups powdered sugar

5 tablespoons water

Place yolks in a stand mixer. Bring 4 tablespoons butter and cream to simmer in heavy small saucepan. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolks.

Stir sugar and 5 tablespoons water in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan so caramel will color evenly, about 10 minutes.

Slowly whisk hot caramel into yolk mixture, then whisk until smooth. Transfer caramel mixture to small bowl; let stand until no longer warm to touch about 1 hour. Whisk in remaining butter. Cover and chill one day prior to use. 

Chinese Five Spice Macarons 

100 g. egg whites

25 g. white sugar

200 g. powdered sugar

110 g. ground almond meal

1 tsp. (or 2 tsp. for a kick) chinese five spice powder (without fennel! see above! there are different variations on five spice powder)

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites into a foam, gradually adding the sugar. Continue to beat into a meringue. 

Sift together powdered sugar, spices, and almond meal to remove any clumps. Gently sift into meringue gradually folding in, usually as few strokes as possible.  

Moving quickly fill a disposable pastry bag with the macaron batter with a 3/4 inch wide cut end. Pipe small rounds one inch in diameter and one inch apart, onto the baking sheets. Allow to rest for half an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 300. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes. My experience is that if the macarons are hard to remove from the paper, they need more time to bake. Allow to cool on the pan and then remove. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to fill. 

To Fill: 

Scoop and roll two teaspoons of caramel, gently flattening into a disc roughly the size of the macarons, gently sandwich between two. 

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Caramel Apple Toffee Pastries

This was the winner of Iron Chef Apple and is one of my favorite fall desserts! How could you ever go wrong with caramel, apples, and especially toffee? The phyllo that wraps it all up adds the perfect bit of crunch!

One line reminder to vote for Cherry Tea Cakes in the Express Night Out Best of DC Food Blogger Vote through September 30th! See instructions here! 


Sorry for being late with this post. I came off of a long day at work after a night full of red eye flights, airports, and next to no food or sleep..,oh, and did I mention food poisoning? As it is, I am taking a detox day. Fruit juices and salad only to get my body back to normal...and to make it worse with the sleep deprivation, from what I read online...you shouldn't have caffeine when you are getting over food poisoning. Worst. Monday. Ever.

Butchie had to put up with me without sleep, without food, and trying to recover on our weekly baking night. And MAN was I on one! I have next to no filter when I'm that tired and hungry. [It's fabulous--she was smiley and punchy and rude and maybe now I will never let her sleep again. --B.] Never ask me what I really think in that state. I answer as honestly as I usually do, but with less tact and diplomacy.

So I asked Butchie what she wanted to make and she answered just as bluntly honest: apples! If you want to hear some gushing on how great fall boots, fall sweaters, fall scarfs, and all flavors are--note the trend--then you should talk to Butch. She has an endless supply of enthusiasm for fall. [How could you not? Gorgeous yellow leaves, pears everywhere, perfect snuggling temperature, fireplaces with ACTUAL FIRE IN THEM. Plus, Halloween! This year I was thinking I'd go as a sexy autumn leaf. Now that Halloween is just an excuse for ladies to be as close to publicly naked as possible. --B.] Anyway, this is a good recipe for us: I have an infinite amount of enthusiasm for toffee, and even though I do not care about autumn or its apples, basically at all, Butchie makes up for it. [Maybe I'll go as an apple. --B.]

There are two ways you can make this dessert: make it all, or buy it all. We made toffee and caramel from scratch, but you can buy it too, and these pastries are still very good. I am all about lessening the chemicals I can't pronounce in my diet, so I go the scratch route...plus, c'mon, homemade caramel? Way better!

Caramel Toffee Apple Pastries

3 large baking apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

1/2 cup caramel, store bought or see the recipe below

1/2 cup toffee bits, store bought or see the recipe below

16 sheets phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 375. Spray two muffin tins with cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl combine the chopped apples, caramel and toffee bits. Set aside.

Lay phyllo pastry sheets flat on a work surface and cover with sheet of plastic wrap. Place a slightly damp kitchen towel over the plastic wrap. Removing one sheet of pastry at a time spray completely with cooking spray top with another sheet of phyllo pastry and spray with cooking spray. Repeat until four sheets of phyllo are stacked. Cut the stacked pastry into 6 equal squares. Press each stack into a muffin tin.

Place 1/4 cup of apple mixture inside each phyllo lined muffin tin, pour a little of the caramel over the top, and pinch the corners together to form a pouch. A ring of aluminum foil can be placed around the pinched dough to hold them together if desired.

Repeat with remaining sheets and apple filling. Wrap and refrigerate any remaining phyllo.

Spray tops with cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes or until pastries are golden brown.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Eat immediately, as they will not remain crisp for more than an hour.

Toffee Bits

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tablespoons water

Place all ingredients in a pan and bring to a hard boil, cook until a candy thermometer reads hard crack. Poor onto a greased sheet of aluminum foil. Allow to set, chop.

Caramel Sauce

3/8 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/8 cup light corn syrup

3/8 cup whipping cream

Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to a boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes, until caramel has reached a dark amber color. Remove from heat, carefully and immediately add cream--it will bubble and clot. Stir sauce over low heat until sauce is smooth.

Lavender Honey Caramel Candy Bars

Honey, lavender and caramel flavors gently combine to add a little something extra to this homemade gourmet candy bar. 

What a night we had making these. It’s so tiring to laud one’s own genius for that long. [Too true. –B.] I want to have some humility but this is definitely on my short list of favorites. I’ve been eating then practically nonstop since. Butchie and I both took some into work and got some great reviews back on them, but it was hard to share. Extremely hard to share. [Fine, if you must know we only got like two reviews from anyone other than ourselves. –B.]

Talk about a process, though! The caramel took far longer than we’d imagined, the shortbread dough has to refrigerate twice, and so on and so on. I’m fairly certain it was four hours after we started that I was finally covering the last bar with chocolate! Butchie thought she was so sly chopping the caramel. She made me think I was getting the easy job. Ha. She finished long, long before me, the brute. [In my defense, it was sticky work—just less finicky than the chocolate, apparently. –B.]

But we promise they are worth it. I have eaten two just while typing! It’s my own fault. I really shouldn’t have brought them into work with me. What was I thinking? Oh, right. Sharing. Silly me I should have known I’d end up eating them all myself.

Better go running! 

Lavender Honey Caramel Candy Bars

For the lavender honey caramel

1 cup milk
1 ½ cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons dried lavender buds
¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup honey
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

For the cookie base:

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), cold and cut into small pieces

For the chocolate coating:

Dark chocolate

Prepare your pan by greasing it with butter then lining the bottom with parchment paper. Do not use wax paper the caramel will stick.

Place the milk, heavy cream and lavender buds in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Strain out and discard the lavender. Measure 2 cups of the liquid. Discard the excess.

Combine all of the ingredients except the vanilla and salt in a deep saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, brush down any sugar that has crept up the sides of the pan.   When the mixture reads 240 immediately remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and the salt, and pour into the prepared baking pan. Cool the mixture completely until it is firm, at least 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.

To begin to make the shortbread, in a small bowl beat together egg and vanilla extract until yolk is broken up and evenly combined; set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add butter and mix until mixture looks like sand. Add egg mixture and mix just until dough comes together. Form into a flat, rectangular disk, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 375°F. Place dough on a 14-inch piece of parchment paper, lightly flour, and roll into a 13-by-8-inch oval, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer parchment paper with dough to a baking sheet, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

Cut each cookien into a 3x.75 inch cookie. Pierce each cookie four or five times with a chopstick or the base of a thermometer.

Place on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Invert the caramel onto a cutting board and turn glossy side up. Cut into bars to place on top of the shortbread.  Set aside and temper the chocolate.

Place two thirds of the chocolate in a double boiler.  Melt slowly to 107 degrees. Remove from heat and stir until it reaches 110 degrees.  Add in remaining third of chocolate and stir to combine until the mixture reaches 90-93 degrees. Use immediately. 

Place a candy bar on a fork and proceed to spoon the tempered chocolate over it, covering completely. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Set completed candy bar on the sheet. Repeat with the remaining candy bars.  Set the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Enjoy!